E-books coming to Jefferson County libraries

Several Jefferson County libraries are gearing up to have a joint collection of virtual bookshelves by offering downloadable electronic books for use on reading devices or personal computers.

The Hoover Public Library plans to start a collection of digital e-books and have them available for all Jefferson County library patrons by mid-August, said Patricia Guarino, the library's assistant director.

"This is very exciting," she said.

This is a first step in having e-books available for the Jefferson County Library Cooperative, an alliance of 40 libraries --which range from Birmingham's 20-branch system to the library at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens -- through a pool of resources, said Pat Ryan, the cooperative's director.

"Hoover looks to be the first to get it off the ground," Ryan said.

The Homewood Public Library and Mountain Brook's Emmet O'Neal Library are looking to begin purchasing e-books after the start of the new budget year in October.

"We have been talking about this for some time," said Sue DeBrecht, director of the Emmet O'Neal Library. "We are just trying to make sure we are staying relevant to those who want to use the technology."

Vestavia Hills and Gardendale also have expressed an interest in adding e-book collections.

Ryan said Jefferson County libraries, through the cooperative, have for some time offered downloadable audio books -- narrated versions of books -- allowing those to be downloaded directly to audio devices such as an MP3 player or an iPod.

But Ryan said more and more library patrons are requesting the digital electronic books.

Rebecca Mitchell, director of the Alabama Public Library Service, said offering e-books is following a trend in libraries across the state and nation.

"It is the next wave in our public libraries in electronic media," she said.

In Hoover, Guarino said the library will start with a small collection of fiction, non-fiction and children/teen books through a service by OverDrive, an Ohio-based international distributor of e-books, audio books, music and videos. The library plans to add to the collection monthly, Guarino said.

Once the service is available, patrons will be able to check out e-books with a valid library card and then download them to a personal computer or MacIntosh computers, said David Burleigh, an OverDrive spokesman.

Burleigh said a person can read the books from the computer or transfer the e-books to an e-reader such as the Sony Reader, the Barnes and Noble Nook and Borders Kobo e-reader. Burleigh said the Amazon Kindle and Apple iPad are not compatible for the library services. However, the company will release applications, or apps, for the iPad and other devices such as Android and iPhone later this year, he said.

Burleigh said the books will have an expiration or "return" time that can range from 7 to 21 days. Only one person at a time will be able to check out each e-book purchased by the library, just like a print version of the book, Guarino said.

Burleigh said several other Alabama libraries such as those in Huntsville-Madison County, Cullman and Orange Beach are already offering e-books.